Biochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry

Al Azhar

Publications

• Research Article
  Mechanisms of Biotin Transport
  Author(s): Al Azhar, Grant W. Booker and Steven W. PolyakAl Azhar, Grant W. Booker and Steven W. Polyak
  
  Biotin is an important micronutrient widely employed as an enzyme cofactor in all living organisms, therefore, cells that cannot synthesize biotin de novo must import it from the external environment. However, most cells have evolved a specific transport protein to facilitate biotin entry into cells, even if they have the necessary biosynthetic pathways, as it is more energetically efficient to scavenge biotin from the environment. The best-characterized examples of biotin transporters now belong to the bacterial energy coupling factor (ECF) family of vitamin transporters that employ similar but distinct mechanisms of solute uptake to the well studied ABC transporters. Here we review recent studies that shed new light on the structure and function of these important proteins. Studies on biotin transporters from organisms outside the bacterial kingdom are also presented, such as the an.. View More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2161-1009.1000210

  Abstract PDF